This invention relates to a system for analysis of a gaseous sample containing one or more gases therein. In particular, it relates to a system having an analyzer and a conditioner in which the sample can be prepared for analysis without reactions which affect the results of the analyses.
This invention is especially useful in determining the level of hydrogen sulfide in a gaseous stream. The recovery of sulfur from gaseous streams containing hydrogen sulfide is a fairly common operation in gas and petroleum industries. Such recovery results in both production of elemental sulfur and a reduction of atmospheric pollution. Sulfur is commonly produced by processes such as the Claus process, which involves the reaction of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide. The optimum reaction conditions of a typical sulfur recovery unit include a specific ratio of sulfur dioxide to hydrogen sulfide in the reactor. Since the same ratio is believed to exist throughout the system, the ratio in the reactor can be determined by the analysis of residual or tail gases from the operation. Sampling of the tail gases is complicated by the presence of elemental sulfur and sulfur compounds therein, and by the reaction between hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide if liquid water is present. Furthermore, sulfur vapors and sulfur aerosols in the sample can condense and deposit along the interior of the sample handling equipment causing additional analysis problems.
To solve these problems, a system for conditioning gaseous samples was provided. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,211, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention represents a further improvement of the process and apparatus for the analysis of gaseous samples containing reactive gases such as hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide.
Thus, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved system and method for the analysis of gaseous streams.
Another object of the invention is to provide a system and a method for the analysis of the ratio of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide, in which system the reaction between these two reactive materials is prevented throughout the sampling and analysis.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a system and a method for analysis of the ratio of hydrogen sulfide to sulfur dioxide, which system has an improved reliability and requires minimum maintenance.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for determining the amount of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide in a gaseous stream with an improved accuracy.
Other objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon studying this disclosure.